Case Studies
Did anyone watch the TV game show “Wheel of Fortune” during its “San Diego Week?” The show backdrop featured classic symbols of San Diego. The most prominant was the unmistakable red turret roof of the Hotel Del Coronado.
The beautiful Hotel del Coronado is a little more beautiful today thanks to its new living wall, installed in late January by Good Earth Plants and GreenScaped Buildings. This project has been a year in the making as it made its way through a lengthy approval process by the City of Coronado. The City and several organizations must maintain the historic preservation of the landmark and ensure any renovations or construction don’t harm the structure.… Read More
Flashbacks in Florida at the Tropical Plant Industry Expo
After all the New Year celebrations are over, I still have something to look forward to every year: the annual Tropical Plant Industry Expo in Florida. It’s become a tradition for me to start the year meeting with my Plantscaping industry colleagues from 45 states and 37 different countries, and learning about the latest trends and products I can offer to our clients at Good Earth Plant Company.
When you have been in business almost 40 years like we have, you see certain concepts and ideas recycled from time to time. Sometimes we get a new twist on those old ideas.… Read More
Good Earth Plant Company’s Top Ten Workplace Design Trends to Watch for 2017
With just a few days left of 2016, Good Earth Plants has its attention focused on what’s to come for 2017. Here are our top ten predictions on workplace design trends for the next 12 months.
Moss Wall Art: Preserved moss walls took our industry by storm in 2016, and there is no sign of it letting up. Look for even more creativity and innovation in these projects. We are incorporating new and different types of mosses and integrating additional materials including elements like driftwood, pods, shells and glass. There is no limit to the possibilities. We are even exploring living moss walls into very limited projects.… Read More
Healing and Growing With Horticultural Therapy
Several years ago at a Water Conservation Garden event at Cuyamaca College, I met Laura Eubanks. I stopped at her booth to talk to her because she had some of the most beautiful succulent displays I’d seen in a long time. At the time, Laura was an aspiring landscape designer. She asked a lot of questions, and even then I knew she would be successful.
Today, Laura’s company “Design for Serenity” and her one of a kind drought tolerant landscapes are gaining worldwide acclaim. She recently returned from Brazil where she installed two demonstration gardens.
What I didn’t know until recently is why Laura was drawn to gardening.… Read More
Projects Inspiring Us At Good Earth Plants RN
Regular blog readers know about my passion for improving our communities and our health and well being through strengthening our connection to nature. It’s amazing to me how something simple like introducing natural elements in our work environment like plants and natural light can reduce job stress and improve our health overall.
I get inspired when I see people around the world creating projects taking this simple idea and making it real. Yes, I also admit to being a little envious too, because I would love to see more projects like this in San Diego.
Several projects got a “wow” out of me and I’d like to share them with you for your daily dose of “wow” instead of a basketball trick shot or cute pet video.… Read More
Helping Homeless San Diegans One Plant At A Time
Several months ago at a Citizens Coordinate for Century 3 (C3) panel discussion on the homelessness problem in San Diego, one of the panel members really energized me.
Her name is Amy Gonyeau, and she is Chief Operating Officer with the Alpha Project. For those who aren’t familiar with it (like me I’m embarrassed to say), Alpha Project is a nonprofit human services organization that serves over 4,000 homeless men, women, and children each day with a variety of services like affordable housing, residential substance abuse treatment, transportation, mental health counseling, employment training, and also emergency services.
I started my career in the plant industry with a flower kiosk on the corner of 6th and B streets in downtown San Diego.… Read More
Workplace Green Goes a Long Way with Employees
We’re all spending a lot more time at work, as much as half our waking hours. So making your workplace a more comfortable and fun place to be makes sense. Keeping employees happy means they’ll be more productive and less likely to look for a new job somewhere else.
But doesn’t it seem though like workplace trends have gone a bit weird lately? Just when we all got used to the idea of bringing your dog to work, some of the perks I’ve read about are downright wacky. How about working somewhere with a fully stocked game room from PlayStations to board games like Monopoly and Sorry?… Read More
HLI and Good Earth Plant Company: A Natural Fit
Earlier this year, Good Earth Plant Company was called in by McCarthy Building Companies‘ San Diego location for a plantscaping assignment, starting with designing and installing a 200 square foot living wall at a brand new and innovative company in San Diego, Human Longevity, Incorporated (HLI).
We designed a sleek, modern living wall for HLI created to mimic natural shapes, colors and materials. Taking three days to complete, our finished living wall contains 317 jade pothos in the Wall of Life system.
HLI was also interested in additional plantscaping throughout the office after seeing our work. Good Earth Plant Company added nearly 50 potted plants with an assortment of Aglaonema, Raphis Palms, Kentia Palms, dracaena and sanseveria.… Read More
Good Earth Plants Gives Thomas Jefferson School of Law a Natural Makeover
One of our favorite projects ever stemmed from installing the living wall on the fifth floor of the new Thomas Jefferson School of Law (TJSL) downtown. We installed the original living wall in January 2011 and it got rave reviews. Here’s what it looked like then:
Because the client was so pleased with our diligent, detail-oriented performance (and our tidiness too), we also got the contract to install all of the built in planters on the fifth and eighth floors (not quite a green roof), ground level and the interior atrium. We performed maintenance for the first year, and then due to budget constraints, the school decided to take the service and care of their plants in-house.… Read More
San Diego Downtown News: ‘Living Walls bring life to the city’
A recent article by Delle Willett in the San Diego Downtown News showcases several of our living wall projects in Downtown San Diego. It’s terrific to see how developers and building owners are integrating nature into the urban environment. Living walls are now featured in (or on) upper-end hotels and restaurants, designer retail stores, chic spas, exclusive clubs — basically any place looking for distinction, something that makes them stand out from their competitors. Good Earth Plant Company and GreenScaped Buildings is happy to help them stand out!
Included in the article are our walls for the law firm of Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch, LLP; the Westgate Hotel; the newly opened Urbana rental flats in East Village; and the Thomas Jefferson School of Law, which we built in 2011 and is still the biggest living wall in San Diego.… Read More